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Tuesday, 10 October 2017

Top Ten Tuesday | Indigenous Peoples' Day and World Mental Health Day

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Ten Books With Fall/Autumn Covers/Themes' which I struggled with, but it's actually my birthday today so it didn't seem right to miss another week of TTT! More importantly, however, October 10th is also World Mental Health Day, and as Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight is once again hosting her wonderful Shattering Stigmas blog event I decided to join in and use this week's TTT as an opportunity to mention some books which discuss mental health, some I've read and some I've yet to read, and also as an opportunity to mention some books in celebration of Indigenous Peoples' Day (9th October).If you have any recommendations, please leave them below!

Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig: I've owned a copy of this for a while and have heard amazing things but still haven't read it. Hopefully I can make time for it this Non Fiction November!The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: It's amazing how much impact Perkins Gilman can have in so short a story, but The Yellow Wallpaper, following the mental deterioration of a woman after she is married and expected to play a certain role is nothing short of a masterpiece.The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: I'm ashamed to say I still haven't read any Plath, something I know one friend of mine in particular will be unhappy with as she loves her work so much. I think knowing the tragic end to Plath's own life makes her work seem a little intimidating to me, but I'd like to read The Bell Jar sooner rather than later.Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia: Not only does this sound like a very sweet, fun story, but I've also heard it deals with depression and anxiety really well and I'm all for that.The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson: I wasn't sure if I was going to include this one at first. Jackson is my favourite horror writer and a lot of her work seems to revolve around how society damages women, particularly their mental state, but it can also be read as a pure ghost story. This novel, in particular, leaves it entirely up to the reader as to whether the heroine is really in a haunted house or if her mental health is deteriorating. However you choose to read it, it's worth reading.

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney: I've mentioned this novel several times before, particularly how I'd like to reread it as I think I might appreciate it more a second time, but one of the things I loved about it was that there were several characters who are First Nations people and the novel as a whole doesn't ignore the impact white settlers in Canada had on the indigenous population. A great novel to read in the winter!Beyond the Pampas by Imogen Rhia Herrad: This book explores something I know practically nothing about it: Welsh settlers in Patagonia. While a lot of the book seems to be about Herrad learning about the descendents of those Welsh settlers, she also explores the impact that their settling had on the indigenous people.The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King: I've heard fantastic things about this book, which explores the history of North America's First Nations people and the way they are still portrayed today in the media. I started reading last year, I think, but wasn't in the right headspace for it, so I'm hoping I can get to it this year.Between Earth and Sky by Amanda Skenandore: This novel isn't due out until next year but it sounds super interesting. Set in early 20th century Philadelphia, a woman asks her lawyer husband to defend her childhood friend, a First Nations man raised in one of America's 'savage-taming' boarding schools, when he is accused of murder.Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown: I've heard so many good things about this book and still haven't read it, and I'd love to check out the film adapted from the book starring Anna Paquin, too.Which books made your list this week?

Eliza and her Monsters is definitely on my TBR. Some of my fave book dealing with mental health issues are-- E. Lockhart's Boyfriend List series, Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers, Hold Still by Nina LaCour.

Happy birthday!!! And I like what you did with this one. :) Eliza and her Monsters definitely appeals to me for the subject matter and also because I've seen quite a few good reviews now. Thanks for this list!

Aw thank you so much for the shout out! I loved Eliza, that is a great choice for the list! And I want to read Reasons to Stay Alive too, I hope you let us know how it is! If you liked ELiza, I bet you'd love Francesca's other book, Made You Up, it's so good.

Happy belated birthday! I hope you had a lovey day :) I love that you used this theme to feature other important events. I haven't read/heard of many of these books, so I'm glad to have stumbled across your post. The Inconvenient Indian is going straight on my to-buy list. Thank you for the recs!!